Previous literature has suggested the existence of a close relationship between individuals' intellectual abilities and their cognitive profile, understood as their performance in tasks tapping into the different cognitive domains. This relationship has typically been discussed in populations characterized as having high intellectual abilities, as…

Introduction: This study investigated the possible existence of differences in several domains or traits of the general construct of emotional intelligence between highly able children and their normotypically developing peers. Method: A group of children with high abilities and a group of children with average intellectual development completed…

There is evidence that mastery motivation contributes to developmental outcomes, both for typically developing individuals and for those with disabilities such as Down syndrome. Mastery motivation appears to be a stable trait, at least during early childhood, but research with adults has been restricted by the absence of an appropriate measure.…

Twins regularly score nearly a standard deviation below the population mean on standardized measures of cognitive development in infancy but recover to the population mean by early childhood, making rapid gains through the toddler years. To date, only polynomial growth models have been fit to model cognitive recovery across childhood, limiting the…

Purpose: Typical speakers tend to adopt words used by their conversational partners. This "lexical alignment" enhances communication by reducing ambiguity and promoting a shared understanding of the topic under discussion. Lexical alignment has been little studied to date in autism spectrum disorder (ASD); furthermore, it has been…

Background & aims: Although the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) has been demonstrated to be an effective intervention to teach people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder a functional communication system, the research indicates variability in PECS outcomes across people and studies. Therefore, the purpose of the current study…

This prospective study examined the developmental changes over time of adolescents diagnosed in toddlerhood with autism spectrum disorder and searched for child characteristics at toddlerhood that predict outcome at adolescence. The study included 65 participants who were divided into low cognitive (developmental quotient [less than] 85; N = 41)…

Introduction: Youth with intellectual disabilities (ID) demonstrate higher rates of disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) than youth with typical development (TD). DBDs such as oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) predict higher rates of delinquency during adolescence. Yet, few studies have examined risk-taking and delinquency among youth with ID.…

Anxiety often co-occurs with autism spectrum disorder, yet there are few valid and reliable instruments for measuring anxiety in youth with autism spectrum disorder. This article describes the modification of the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale for youth with autism spectrum disorder and systematic psychometric evaluation in a well-characterized…

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of a multicomponent peer-mediated intervention (PMI) on teaching adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) how to show interest in peer conversation partners by asking partner-focused questions about the person, their interests, or their experiences and by making partner-focused…

In his target article, Sternberg (2017) quite rightly criticizes the approach to identifying giftedness that was initiated by Terman's (1925-1959) classic prospective study of high-IQ children. Sternberg then recommends a number of novel approaches to both identification and education. Nonetheless, this commentator recommends that future…

Background: Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) appears more prevalent among children with intellectual disabilities (ID) as compared to children with typical development. However, it remains unclear what drives this difference. Methods: Data from 70 youth with typical development (TD) and 20 youth with ID were drawn from (The Collaborative Family…

Video-based modeling is an evidence-based practice for teaching social and communication skills, functional and daily living skills, and some academic skills (i.e., math) to students with autism spectrum disorder. The efficacy of video-based modeling, however, has not yet been established for STEM skills related to science, technology, or…

Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder frequently experience social communication difficulties, executive functioning deficits, and anxiety and depressive symptoms, which are similar to the symptoms and correlates of sluggish cognitive tempo. Although sluggish cognitive tempo is related to, but distinct from, the inattentive and…

The newest edition of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (5th ed., DSM-5) introduced substantial changes to the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder, including new severity level ratings for social communication and restricted and repetitive behavior domains. The purpose of this study was to evaluate…